Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Guilty Pleasures #2

The man I really want to be in the back of a car with...


So has anyone else on this side of the Atlantic seen/tasted these new Walkers crisp flavours? There are very many places where Canada beats Ireland; the existence of brunch, great sourdough, more than say, 3, sushi restaurants in the entire country. But when it comes to the humble spud, we have it covered. My favourite potato based snack food is Tayto Cheese and Onion flavour crisps – a conservative choice perhaps, but they’ve stood me in good stead since childhood, and I am loyal to anything which consistently feeds me. My preferred method of eating them is in a classic Irish dish: the crisp sandwich. Take two slices of white bread, the rubbery sliced stuff is fine here, butter generously, then fill with as much of the crisp packet as you can. Press down gently to make it easier to hold. If in need of something more substantial, some cheddar can be added to the mix. How this has never made it to a book of traditional Irish cooking is beyond me. How half of the population isn’t dying of heart disease is also a mystery.

In any case, Walkers, the same snack company which had Heston Blumenthal on the brainstorming team not too long ago, have a range of new flavours, including Spanish paella, French garlic bread, and Italian spaghetti Bolognese, to name the three types which I snaffled greedily in the back of the car last week. (In the name of culinary research and all that.) And fancy and fun as they were, none could trump my beloved cheese and onion. Despite generally being a liberal, progressive type of gal, I simply can't get past my conservative attitude towards junk food. I always go for the classic option - usually the one most reminiscent of being a kid and spending all of my pocket money in the local corner shop. When it comes to hanging out on the sofa watching tv, I will go for the regular bar of cocoa-butter-heavy milk chocolate over the organic, single estate 70% dark chocolate every time. But surely I’m not the only one with a junk food guilty pleasure or two. Any confessions?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am trying to munch my way through a giant bag of giant (cadburys, which, tecnically, doesn't have enough cocoa to be a real form of chocolate but who cares!!) buttons. I never thought that it was possible to hit a chocolate wall but it seems that it is. After reading your blog, I think that I will now have to cancel out the chocolate haze with a Tayto crip sandwich made in the "traditional" manner.

P.s on a personla note, do not approve of walkers new-fangled flavours, just seems wrong!

Alison said...

Ceeyara, I would absolutely reccommend a crisp sandwich in your situation; the saltiness is actually a really good complement to chocolate, and will give you a breather before you attack the rest of the buttons!

Gina A said...

That sandwich sounds delicious and repulsive all at the same time.

As for guilty junk food pleasures, mine are almost innumerable. For salty I love cheetos (the softer ones), dill pickle chips and salty popcorn with butter (which upsets my stomach but I love it anyways).

Sweet can sway a lot depending on my mood but I love things that are chewy and also I have a soft spot for milk chocolate as well!

All this has given me the munchies!

Sarah O'Connor said...

Oh Alison, I have many many guilty pleasures .... and sadly, (or happily?) this blog does not have enough space for them all.

Jen said...

My current guilty pleasures are those little halloween caramels. They've saved me on multiple occasions where I need a quick buttery sugar fix!

As for chips... I'm down for most flavours but I really loved the Lay's curry chip!

Gerwyn said...

Gina, I had forgotten about Dill Pickle chips, they are delicious. I'm always intrigued by these little differences between countries. Chip flavour variations are the closest thing we have to culture shock. In the absence of delicious Dill Pickle chips in Australia, my vice is Burger Rings and Tasty Toobs, neither variety attaching itself specifically to any flavour but the delicious Sodium against my tongue is a relentless addiction.

Alison said...

Gina: I hope in the meantime you have satisfied your munchies, perhaps with a cheetos-chocolate combo!

Sarah: I know you have a few chocolatey vices, but hey! Life is about enjoyment!

Jen, I like the Halloween caramels, but while I was in Canada I got really addicted to candy corn. I can still taste it, I really miss it!

Gerwyn, it's a weird but really fun thing to discover the junk food of another country. Usually there are loads of differences, but with the common feature of lots of salt/sugar to unite your faves from home with the new stuff. Have you tried using timtams as a straw for tea yet? Hours of fun!